Ice-cream cabinet



July 1, 1947. R. J. SHARP I2,423,207

' YICE CREAM CABINET Y Filed oct. 6, 1944 RENWICK J. SHARP, mx/ENTOR.

patented July 1,

UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE 2,423,207 ICE-CREAM CABINET Renwick J. Sharp,Guatemala, Guatemala. Application Getober 6, 1944, Serial No. 557,422

(Cl. 22u-,47)

1 Claim. 1

VThis invention relates to improvements in ice cream cabinets and thelike.

Hitherto it has been the usual practice to construct ice cream cabinetswith horizontal tops and so to arrange their chambers as to support thecontained receptacles in upright positions. The result is that theattendant finds it necessary to bend the body in an uncomfortable mannerto reach down into the containers to obtain access to their contents,particularly when it becomes necessary to reach down to the bottomportions of nearly empty containers.

Another defect of these structures has resided in the iactt-hat inopening their lids the operator must use one of his or her hands, whichit is often inconvenient for an Vattendant to do, owing to having bothvhands inuse when serving foods to customers.

Also, due to the upright position in which the food-containing chambersof the cabinets have heretofore been arranged, when the delivery-mandeposits the cartons or" ice cream into these chambers he is apt to dropthem with a sufficient impact to cause the cartons to rupture, whereas,if the cartons descended along inclined surfaces this danger would beobviated.

It is the object of this invention to overcome the above mentioneddefects in a simple, inexpensive manner.

Other objects, advantages and features of invention will hereinafterappear.

Referring to the accompanying drawing, which illustrates what is atpresent deemed to be a preierred embodiment of the invention,

Fig. l is an end elevation of a multiple ice cream cabinet, parts beingshown in section in order to illustrate interior structures moreclearly.

Fig. 2 is a plan View of the upper side of the cabinet end portion shownin Fig. 1, the direction in which the observer is looking beingindicated by the line 2-2 on Fig. l. Parts of the cabinet not needed toillustrate the invention are broken oli.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the structure shown in Fig. 2, viewedfrom line 3 3 of the latter View.

Fig. i is a rear elevation oi the end portion oi the cabinet shown inFigs. 1 and 2, viewed from line 1i-i of the former view, the cabinetbeing broken ofi adjacent to the unit shown.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional detail taken on line 5--5 of Fig. 1.

Referring in detail to the drawing, the cabinet body l differs from theusual construction in that each of its containing chambers 8 areinclined veniently to reach and remove the contents of the containersAle in said chambers, particularly when the containers become nearlyempty.

Communicating with the rear side por-tion of the chamber `3 is shown aconventional refrigerating means 3:1;

Each containing chamber 8 is furnished With a slidable cover Il -to theupper end of which is connected at l2 one end of a iiexible tractiveconnection E3, said connection `passing over an fantiiriction pulley I4,which is rotatably mounted in any suitable manner, being shown furnishedwith a pintle l5 carried by a yoke I6, said yoke having a shank lGaextending loosely through a downwardly deflected part Il of the liningor cover platef, said plate having also a downwardly directed ilange i8to which said shank is adjustably attached, as for example byscrewthreading thereinto. This screwthreaded connection permits thepulley lli to sway from full line to dotted line position as shown inFig. 4 when the foot-operable crank is operated to shift the sldablecover, the flanges 16:1: of the yoke contacting the deflected part ll tolimit to an extreme movement such swaying action.

Said part Il' defines a recess which countersinks the pulley to aconsiderable extent so that a large, friction-reducing pulley may beused without its presence causing an objectionable projection.

The lower run 13a of the connection is secured to the iree end of aswingable operating arm 2U, the opposite end of said arm or movementmultiplying lever being xed to the rear end of a horizontal rock shaft2l, bearings 22 and 23 for which are carried by the cabinet body l. Thefront end of said shaft 2i has fixed to it the aforementionedfoot-operable crank 24 partly housed in a suitable alcove 25. By thearrangement above described thefoot-operable crank 24 may be utilized tocause the connection i3, i3d to pull the cover l i up the inclinedsurface on which it rests, thus uncovering the chamber 8 with lessmovement of the crank 2d by the foot than the distance traversed by thelid in uncovering the opening in the chambers 3 hereinafter described.When the operator removes his foot from the crank 24 said cover willgravitate back to the closed position, this movement being assisted by apair of springs 2S, these springs being located in grooves 2 positionedlaterally in the cover guides 28, being anchored as shown in Fig. 2.

The foot-operable crank 24 is shown located so close to the lower end ofthe cabinet that it is operable by the toe portion of the foot of aperson while the heel of the same foot is resting upon a oor whichsupports the cabinet.

In order to provide for obtaining access to the chamber 8 and containerIl] therein without always operating the crank 24, the slidable cover Ilis provided with a spacious opening 30 which is normally closed by a lid3l hinged to the upper part of the cover at 32, an elastic bumper 33arresting the upswing of said cover in the position indicated in Fig. l,after it passes the center of gravity in moving to its open position.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purposeof illustration only and that this invention includes all modicationsand equivalents which fall within the scope of the subject matterclaimed.

What is claimed is:

In a cabinet having its top wall inclined downwardly toward the frontand provided with a material receiving chamber opening through said topwall, a cover slidable on said top wall from a forward chamber-closingposition to a rearward position for opening said chamber, a rock shaftjournalled horizontally on the lower part of said cabinet, afoot-operable crank fixed to one end of said shaft and disposed at thefront of the cabinet, a lever having a radial length substantiallygreater than that of said crank xed to the opposite end of said rockshaft and arranged to 4 swing in a vertical plane rearwardly of thecabinet, a flexible element trained for movement over the upper rearportion of the cabinet and connecting the free end of said lever withsaid slidable cover whereby foot-operated movement of said crank willcause greatly increased arcuate movement at the free end of said leverto pull the exible element sufciently to effect full opening slide ofthe cover, means yieldingly urging said cover to forward closedposition, said top Wall being provided with a channel directed forwardlyfrom its rear wall and having undercut grooves at each side of thechannel, said cover being slidable in said channel and grooves, atension spring fastened in each of said grooves and to the cover toresiliently urge the cover to chamber-closing position, said cabinethaving a recess in its lower front portion Within which said foot crankis housed, and a pulley rotatably mounted on the upper rear portion ofthe cabinet to guide said flexible element thereover.

RENWICK J. SHARP.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the iile ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,380,011 Pelc et al May 31, 19211,424,373 Nilsson Aug. 1, 1922 1,485,439 Klages Mar. 11, 1924 1,358,503Beatty Nov. 9, 1920 1,290,401 Stewart Jan. "I, 1919 1,315,143 MastersSept. 2, 1919 1,164,583 Drapalik Dec. 14, 1915 1,420,293 Smith June 20,1922

